As his gaze reached the back, his eyes met mine. My heart began to race as he smiled slyly at me. -My first Student/Teacher fic, so let me know what you think! *I'M STILL WRITING GUYS! HANG IN THERE, I HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN ABOUT YOU WONDERFUL READERS!*

A/N: Okay guys, I hope you enjoy this. My updating isn't the best (studying 24/7 is fantastic!), but I'll try and get the chapters up as soon as I can. Reviews would be greatly appreciated so I can improve on things, especially as it is my first Student/Teacher fic. Let me know what you think!

A Time to Love

I walked up stairs to the female bathroom, desperately needing to splash water over my face. I grabbed a paper towel to wipe down my face, and then I looked at myself in the mirror. I wore dark denim jeans, with a black tank-top. My navy blue 'Vans' were faded and my laces were loosely tied. My hair was brown; I had straightened it this morning and tied it up in a side pony-tail, a little bit of my fringe hung loose. I walked back to my class, happy enough with my appearance.

I entered as quietly as I could, hoping I didn't disturb the class. Mr. Shields was talking about primitive reflexes. Great, I had already studied this!

"Atavism. Who can tell me what it means?" His blue-green orbs scanned from the front of the room, searching for any stray hand raised to signal him. As his gaze reached the back, his eyes met mine. My heart began to race as he smiled slyly at me.

"Jenny, nice of you to re-join us. Do you know?" He slowly paced up the side of the room towards me, his lips curled up into a smile. I love it when he smiles, it's not like when he smiles at other students, I can see it reach his eyes when he smiles at me.

"Yes, Mr. Shields." I inhaled slowly, arranging my thoughts so I didn't sound stupid in front of him. He was very attractive, well to me anyway. He was in his early thirties, and had broad shoulders, which complemented his strong chest. His brown hair was short, well groomed, and his skin was pale, with a slight hint of bronze. His well-defined jaw was lightly covered by a shade of stubble.

"Basically it's the re-surfacing of primitive reflexes, or primitive actions." I kept eye contact with him, knowing I had the right answer, but still looking for some sort of reassurance.

He nodded his head slightly.

"Very good, can you expand on that?" He turned and walked back to his desk.

"Painting your face, for example. Not like little kids do, more-so like Indians or warriors. It hides your identity, and therefore, you feel more comfortable with your actions, especially if they are harmful towards others." I finished, placing my hands in my lap. My hands were sweaty, and I was feeling nervous from the attention he payed me. I had known him for four years, and for some reason I still got nervous when he spoke to me.

"Excellent example, Jen." I watched him as he rummaged through his desk, finding a pile of papers I figured to be homework. "Now, everyone, your homework is to finish off the worksheet on primitive reflexes in infants. I'll give you a test on it tomorrow, so make sure you know it. Questions?"

I had already finished that worksheet yesterday, so I thought I'd work ahead of the class. Yes, I was the top of my class, and of the year group in Psychology. I really enjoyed the subject, even more-so because Anthony Shields was my teacher. Today he wore a white dress shirt with a black jumper over it. He let his collar, wrist cuffs, and the bottom of his shirt stick out from underneath the jumper. I could see a thin patch of chest hair sneaking out from under his shirt. His dark denim jeans were held up by a silver buckled belt, which matched his black Italian shoes.

He had taught me science in lower school for the previous 3 years, and we knew each other very well, but this year he treated me more seriously, like an adult. That made me feel respected, it made me feel like I wasn't the girl who got bullied anymore. It built up my confidence tremendously.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Mr. Shields jumped up, holding papers in his hands. "These are the revision sheets for your upcoming exams. Finish them, throw them away, eat them, I don't mind. Just please pass your exams, it will make me look better, and make you look a lot smarter." The class chuckled. Only three people passed our first semester exams - I was one of them.

He handed out the revision sheets while the class chatted loudly for the remainder of the lesson. He placed the sheet on my desk, holding his hand on it as he spoke to me.

"I don't think you'll need this, but you might as well take it." He laughed and smiled at me softly. I had always found his crooked smile charming, the way the left corner of his mouth rose higher than the right. It was sort of… goofy, but it always made me smile in return. He turned and made his way back to the front of the class.

"Oh!" He spun on his heels and walked back towards me. "Uhm, can you stay back after class?" He leant back against the desk in front of me, his hands either side of him. "It's last period… and I wanted to ask you something without… you know, the whole class listening in." He chuckled nervously, awaiting my reply.

What did he want to ask me? I couldn't be failing; I averaged above eighty-five-percent in every test. Had I forgotten about an assignment? He interrupted my thoughts, answering the many questions circling in my mind.

"Don't look so worried." He joked, and stood to lean forward on my desk, his hands placed outside of mine. He lowered his voice; it became husky and very attractive. "You're not in trouble; I just want to ask you something privately." His eyes looked caringly into mine.

"Right. Yep, sure. I thought I had forgotten about an assignment or something stupid like that." I let out a nervous laugh, how could I be so stupid? I have got to stop worrying about my grades all of the time. I'm doing my best, and that's all that matters.

"Oh yeah, I forgot." He leant a little closer, lowering his voice again, to a whisper. "You are failing this unit by at least thirty percent." I could hear the sarcasm in his voice, and his over exaggerated expression didn't help hide it.

"That is so not funny!" I slapped his arm gently and began to laugh.

"Hey!" He stuck his bottom lip out and pouted. He couldn't hold a straight face for long, and broke out in a low laughter. "Don't worry, I'm a big boy. I can take it!" He inhaled deeply, stood up straight and stuck out his chest confidently. I couldn't help but notice the thin layer of hair that was visible in the gap where his first few shirt buttons were open. It took me a lot of effort, but I managed to tear my eyes from his chest to reach his gaze once more.

"I'll see you after class." He smiled once again, and grazed his fingers over my hand lightly before leaving my desk. I felt a buzz of electricity pass from him, and I inhaled sharply. What did he mean by that? Was I accidental? I couldn't be, his hands weren't anywhere near mine to begin with, so he must have done it on purpose. He was probably just being friendly, it was a friendly gesture. Anyway, I couldn't imagine anyone falling for me, especially my teacher.

I spent the last ten minutes of class finishing off my physics homework. The rest of my class-'mates' were talking, telling each other how 'great' their weekend was, even though they couldn't remember it because they were intoxicated by whatever obscenity it was they were drinking/inhaling. Okay, so I wasn't big on partying and drinking - I didn't really have a social-life. But that didn't matter to me. I had school work, a computer, and a never ending supply of food in my pantry. No, I'm not one of those weird people that sit at home all day playing on their computer, eating chips. I do sports, I work, I occasionally over-indulge in ice-cream while watching 'Grey's Anatomy' re-runs. I have a life; it's just not very 'social'.

Finally, the bell sounded to signal the end of fifth period, and the end of the school day. I packed away my physics work slowly; making sure everyone left the room so I could talk to Mr. Shields.

"Hey." I started as I put my bag next to his desk.

"Hey yourself." He looked up from the piece of work he was marking. I sat on the edge of his desk, and he smiled at me. He was smiling a lot today, maybe because he didn't have to teach his eighth grade class. "So, I need to ask you something." He placed his pen down and turned slightly to face me.

I hesitated and looked down, before meeting his gaze once again. "Okay, I guess. Why?"

"I'm just looking out for you." He smiled before continuing. "I know you handled your father's death very well, maybe even a little too well. Your situation at home can't be easy, having to look after yourself and study while your mother works double shifts at the hospital. I guess what I'm saying is, if you ever want someone to talk to, or if you need help with things, I'm here for you." He reached over and held my hand, rubbing his thumb over my knuckles.

"No worries, and when we see or talk to each other out of school, just call me Tony okay?" He squeezed my hand back.

"Sure, Tony." I smiled and stood up. "I suppose I'd better get going; I've got to get to the shops before they close. I'm making pasta bake! Let's just hope I don't poison myself." I let go of his hand slowly, feeling the immediate loss of contact. I turned, grabbed my bag and headed for the door. He followed, and reached past me to open the door, his chest grazed against my shoulder.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Jen." His voice was low, and I could feel it vibrate against my shoulder. He put his hand on the small of my back, and led me out of the class-room.

"Bye, Tony." I turned and waved as I left the room. I pulled my keys out of my pocket and made my way to my car. I had a small, red 'bomb' that wasn't worth much, but it got me wherever I needed to go. I got in, started the engine and reversed. Mum wasn't due home until 3am the next morning, so I would leave some dinner out for her to re-heat. I still needed to finish my Mathematics assignment, and complete my English speech. For now, I would go shopping, grab what I need and go home.

A/N: How was it? Like it? Love it? Hate it? Let me know in a review! Also, please suggest any improvements to either my style of writing or the story line… It would be greatly appreciated! Next chapter should be up soon, but no guarantees!

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